White & Case Scholar Sydney Feldman grew up in South Florida and has already lived in Spain, Buenos Aires, and Paris. At 24, she is fluent in French and Spanish. Not bad for someone who grew up in an English-only speaking household.

At 15, she lived with a family in a small village in Spain. By 17, she had the freedom to explore Argentina on her own. And, Paris? Well, Paris is Paris.

Initially Had an Eye Towards Journalism

“My love of languages translated into a love of writing,” says the second-year law student. “I had started college as a journalism major, but after a year or so, I realized that wasn’t fulfilling for me. I eventually switched to studying economics where I could combine my passion for writing with my desire for more analytical thinking.”

Hurling toward graduation from the University of Florida, Feldman was unsure about a career path. A friend opined that she might make a good lawyer.

Business Law Class Opens Eyes to New Career Path

“I had never even considered that to be a possibility,” she says. “I didn’t know any lawyers and my only knowledge of the law came from movies and television. And that just didn’t fit me. But once I started researching, I realized there was so much more to it, and I became really interested in learning more.”

Feldman signed up for a business law class at UF and she was hooked on law.

Love of Legal Writing and Communication

She is beyond gaga about Miami Law. “I knew I wanted to come here for many reasons, and I couldn’t be happier here,” she says. “What really stands out now is my section as a 1L. I made some of the best group of friends of my life and we are still as close as we were when we were in all the same classes our first year.”

She has put her researching and writing skills to work first as a legal intern at Leighton Law, drafting motions and writing about medical malpractice, then as a judicial intern for Judge William Turnoff at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

She was also Professor JoNel Newman’s research assistant and is currently externing for Judge Robin Rosenbaum at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. She Is queued up for the coming summer at Isicoff Ragatz, a boutique civil litigation firm on Brickell.

“I could see myself as a trial lawyer and I’m looking forward to working at IR this summer,” she says. “It’s a boutique firm so I feel like I’ll get more hands-on time, and more time to work on my writing skills. I love legal writing, but it’s different from any kind of writing I’ve ever done before. It’s almost like a different language.”